Nest
Did you know that an unprogrammed thermostat can waste at least 20 percent of your heating and cooling bill? This smart thermostat from Nest is among a new generation that does the programming for you.
Smart Saving New technology makes energy efficiency and saving money easier
By B. Denise Hawkins
Stop. Look around your room. More than likely there is a programmable thermostat on the wall, a plug strip on the floor and a light bulb in your lamp. These are three of the most common products you can use to help reduce daily household energy costs. The trick is figuring out how to make them work for you. With a little savvy consumer shopping and research, choosing and correctly using programmable thermostats, replacement bulbs and plug strips can be easy to do, says Brian Sloboda, a program manager specializing in energy efficiency for the Cooperative Research Network (CRN), the research and development arm of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.
Programmable thermostats There are plenty of brands and types to suit your home and lifestyle. But one thing you won’t find today is a programmable thermostat that carries the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) familiar blue Energy Star seal. The EPA dropped the label from these products in 2009. Why? Programmable thermostats can potentially save buyers up to $180 a year on heating and cooling costs, according to EnergyStar.gov, but many customers miss out on savings by failing to correctly install their new thermostats. “Most people failed to use the programmable capabilities,” Sloboda says. “They didn’t
know how or didn’t want to.” This led to poor EPA consumer surveys, and ratings drops and the loss of the Energy Star seal for most products. Enter “smart” thermostats, which are intended to be an easier-to-use alternative. They come with motion sensors that help do the work of detecting and setting the temperature in your home. Nest is one such brand of thermostats. “Sensors will start to turn the thermostat up or down, depending on the season,” Sloboda says. Within a few days of installing the device, he says, the system will begin to learn your schedule, automatically dialing your thermostat back when you’re not home. The addition of phone and iPad apps are other smart thermostat features helping to make temperature control easy, Sloboda adds. “Using an app interface should be more intuitive than the oldfashioned programmable thermostat.” So, what about energy savings? “A thermostat will only save you money if you allow it to program,” Sloboda says.
Residential interior lighting By now you know that Thomas Edison’s incandescent light bulb has dimmed. January 2014 marked the end of the bulb’s run under a federal provision to phase out and replace them with more energy efficient options starting this year. Currently, there are three consumer choices — halogenincandescents, CFLs and LEDs. But to get the energy savings and lower electric bills you want, you’ll have to pay more up front. That includes LEDs, the equivalent of the 60-watt incandescent, the most widely used of the phased-out bulbs. And, Sloboda warns, buyers beware. They are long-lasting, more energy-efficient and most will have the iconic look of the old incandescents. But as a new generation of lighting technology evolves, the brand you choose will matter. “There is a whole lot of junk out there,” Sloboda says. “You can buy name-brand LEDs for around $10 and more expensive ones from not-so-reputable companies.” But don’t take chances on your lighting or waste your money.
14 August 2014 Carolina Country
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